The Taiwan Democracy Project will host its first speaker of the fall quarter on Friday, October 4 at noon, at Stanford. The talk is open to the public. Further details and a place to RSVP are here. Our speaker is Margaret Lewis, Associate Professor of Law at Seton Hall University. The title and abstract of her talk are below.

Contrasts across the Strait: International Human Rights Norms in Taiwan and China

In less than three decades, Taiwan has transformed from a repressive, authoritarian state into a vibrant democracy. Changes to the legal system, and particularly the criminal justice system, have played a central role in this story. Reform-minded politicians, lawyers, judges, prosecutors, and scholars have been crucial advocates for strengthening human rights protections, as has Taiwan’s Constitutional Court. Since the end of martial law, the Court has vigorously given heft to rights enshrined in the Republic of China’s constitution. Now that Taiwan has adopted the contents of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as domestic law, it is an opportune moment to reflect on Taiwan’s journey towards embracing international human rights norms and to confront remaining challenges. The situation across the strait is markedly different. Today, Taiwan’s Constitutional Court has no counterpart on the Mainland and analogues to Taiwan’s former police-controlled punishments remain in full effect. As calls for reform on the Mainland become increasingly vocal, how might Taiwan’s experience inform efforts to increase human rights protections in the People’s Republic of China?

All eyes on me.The biggest news of the week continues to be the attempted expulsion of Taiwan's speaker of the Legislative Yuan, Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) of the KMT, by his own party. Wang's fate depends on the outcome of a case now before the Taiwan High Court. On September 12 the KMT's Central Evaluation and Discipline Commission (黨中央考紀會) revoked his party membership, apparently on orders from President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), for alleged "influence peddling" in a court case against DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘). Because Wang holds an at-large seat on the KMT's party list, rather than a district seat, the party action against him was expected to force him out of the legislature. But Wang's legal team managed to win a temporary court injunction against his removal on September 13.

Gang of Five. A weekly policy meeting of five key figures in the KMT--president Ma, vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), KMT secretary-general Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權), and legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng--will resume, with KMT legislative caucus whip Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) taking Wang's place. The move is one of several that appear intended to further isolate Wang and his allies in the party and consolidate president Ma's authority, as well as improve cooperation between the executive and legislative branches. Of particular note is that Wang's allies potentially include the former vice president and presidential candidate Lien Chan (連戰) and his son, Sean Lien (連勝文).

On Wednesday, Ker got his chance to fire back when Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) testified before the legislature. At least one KMT legislator is not so happy about the existence of wiretapping, either. One thing to keep an eye on is whether more KMT legislators eventually push back publicly against the executive branch, or whether the shared interest in protecting the institutional authority of the legislature is trumped by party loyalty.

Give it a shot [奪力一搏].The elections for the five special municipalities (直轄市) -- Taipei, New Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, and Tainan -- aren't until late 2014, but there's already jockeying for the KMT and DPP party nominations. The highest-profile race is in Taipei, where the incumbent mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) of the KMT is term-limited. This week Wellington Koo (顧立雄), a lawyer and former advisor to the presidents Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian, confirmed he was interested in running on the DPP ticket. Another name mentioned frequently is Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), a physician and chief of the intensive care unit at National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei--though Ko is not currently a member of the DPP. Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) is also reportedly interested.

For the KMT, Sean Lien (連勝文) is polling well but has not stated publicly whether he will will run. The Taipei Times reports that four others have already declared their intention to seek the KMT nomination: legislators Alex Tsai (蔡正元) and Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), and Taipei City councilors Yang Shi-chiu (楊實秋) and Chin Hui-chu (秦慧珠).

In the New Taipei City race, former DPP premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) announced this week that he would seek the party's nomination. He joins former legislator Chuang Suo-hang (莊碩漢) as announced candidates. New Taipei DPP party chief Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) is also openly considering a bid. The incumbent mayor, Eric Chu (朱立倫) of the KMT, is eligible to run again but may run for Taipei mayor instead. He is also frequently mentioned as a leading candidate for the 2016 presidential election.

Blakemore Freeman Fellowships for Advanced Asian Language Study

Blakemore Freeman Fellowships are awarded to individuals pursuing professional, business, technical or academic careers that involve the regular use of an East or Southeast Asian language. The grants fund an academic year of advanced language study at the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama, the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies at Tsinghua University in Beijing, the International Chinese Language Program at National Taiwan University in Taipei, and similar programs in other countries of East and SE Asia. The grants cover tuition and a stipend for related educational expenses, basic living costs and transportation, but do not include dependent expenses.

Superior candidates pursuing careers in fields such as academia, international business, accounting, law, medicine, journalism, STEM (science, technology, engineering, math), architecture, teaching, social or NGO work, and government/public service are encouraged to apply.Eligible LanguagesJapanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Khmer and BurmeseApplicant Eligibility· Pursuing a professional, business, technical or academic career that involves the regular use of an East or SE Asian language· Have a college undergraduate degree by the time language program starts· Be at or near an advanced level in the language as defined in the Grant Guidelines· Able to devote oneself exclusively to full-time intensive language study· Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States· Applications must be postmarked by December 30, 2013. Grants awarded April 2014.

Position Listing: Taiwan Literature Research Associate

Postdoctoral Research AssociateTaiwan LiteratureDepartment of East Asian Languages and Cultures - 26527

Washington University

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at WashingtonUniversity in St. Louis invites applications for a full-time postdoctoralteaching fellowship in late Qing through early 20th century Chineseliterature and culture, with a preference for scholars specializing inTaiwan’s literary development during the colonial period. In addition tocarrying on research in this area, the successful candidate will be askedto teach three courses each year, at least one of which should be anadvanced course or seminar that focuses on the legacy of colonialism inTaiwan literature and culture in the greater East Asian context.Candidates should be able to demonstrate prior successful teachingexperience and must have a Ph.D. in Chinese literature or related fieldprior to the start of the appointment. This position begins in January2014, with the possibility of renewal for two additional years.

Applications must include a cover letter, descriptions and sample syllabiof courses, a CV, and a research statement of up to 1,500 words; allmaterial must be uploaded to the online application. Three letters ofreference should be emailed directly by the writers to the SearchCommittee Chair, Professor Letty Chen at: llchen@wustl.edu; inquiries maybe addressed toealc@artsci.wustl.edu. Application review will beginOctober 1, 2013 and continue until the position is filled.

Washington University in St. Louis is an Equal Opportunity/AffirmativeAction employer, and encourages women, minorities, and persons withdisabilities to apply. Employment eligibility is required upon appointment.

Welcome! I've started a blog. In a world where people seem to be blogging about everything all the time--or Facebooking, or tweeting, or Instagramming--why do we need another? The interwebs don't exactly have a shortage of people pumping out snarky political commentary every day. So this blog will not be that. Nor will it be a re-hashing of the day's news, or funny tweets, or pictures of cats. There are plenty of those online already, too. Instead, here are the decidedly modest aims of this blog:

1. To provide a record of major political events in Taiwan. I follow Taiwanese politics pretty closely, partly because it's my job, partly because I find it really interesting, and partly because it provides regular insights into big questions in political science. But my memory is quite fallible. At various points I've found myself digging back through news archives trying to figure out when a major political event happened, why it happened, who was involved, and what the consequences were. And while there are a lot of newsoutlets that cover Taiwanese politics, they often don't record crucial details that I care about. So I will attempt here to provide a regular roundup of major political happenings in Taiwan: things like election outcomes, passage of important legislation, turnover in key positions within government and within the major political parties, significant demonstrations or rallies, major court decisions, and so forth.

2. To serve as a resource for Taiwan Studies. Announcements about conferences, funding competitions, diplomatic initiatives, and whatever else Taiwan-related that comes through my inbox will appear here.

3. To present a take on Taiwanese politics informed by political science. There are already alot of onlinesources that provide well-informed, critical commentary on the Taiwanese political scene. No need to replicate what they do, even if I could. What I want to contribute is a different perspective, drawing on existing research and data, sometimes but not usually my own, to speak to contemporary politics in Taiwan. That will include discussion of events in other young democracies around the world--something that gets woefully little attention in Taiwan. It might also include the occasional foray into events in the People's Republic of China.

4. To think aloud. I'm extremely fortunate to be part of a vibrant intellectual community at Stanford, the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL). I envision this blog as a place for short posts about whatever's on my mind: reactions to campus speakers and events, to conversations in the hallway, to what I'm reading, to thoughts that bubble up on the train ride in--anything, really. Some of this will certainly be half-baked, uninformed stuff. But I hope that by posting it I can figure out what's worth thinking about more.

Finally, this is an experiment of sorts. Although I've been a regular reader of lots of good blogging work out there, I've resisted joining the online commentariat until now. Things may evolve here, and I welcome comments and suggestions that help improve the process and the product.

About Me

I am a political scientist by training, with interests in democratization, parties and elections, and the politics of new and developing democracies. My regional expertise is in East Asia, with special focus on Taiwan.